Popular Republican Movement
|flag = |logo = 250px|colours = Orange|leader3_title = |leader3_name = |chairman = Stuart Ponsonby|spokesman = Arlen Specter|wing1_title = Affiliated radio|wing1 = Movement Radio|seats1_title = Chamber of Deputies|founder = Stuart Ponsonby Jeff Sessions|youth_wing = Youth of the Movement|newspaper = Ponsonby Press|secretary_general = Jeff Sessions|membership_year = 574AER|membership = ~25,000 }} The Popular Republican Movement is a radical centrist political party in Falleentium, and is currently tied as the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, alongside the Coalition of Conservative Unionists. It was formed on June 14, 570AER in Tapanuo by Stuart Ponsonby and Jeff Sessions. It is currently the leader of official opposition to the Cabinet of James Brokenshire. It holds the distinction of having received the most votes of any party in the Falleen Federal Election of 582AER. Policy Positions The Popular Republican Movement is a political party that stresses the importance of compromise and meaningful coalition in government to achieve results. It has been described as Radical Centrist by political observers, noting the party's willingness to adopt policy positions from both the left and right. Overall, PRM views tend to be left-of-centre, but can range from centre-right to left-wing. Foreign Policy PRM advocates a generally non-interventionist foreign policy. Military Budget Most PRM parliamentarians favorably view cutting the military budget to save money. Nilira Alliance PRM has spearheaded the effort to include a judiciary body in the Nilira Alliance to hold member states accountable and protect their citizens' most basic human rights. PRM generally does not support the expansion of the Nilira Alliance to include more nations, although they make an exception in the case of Trade Confederation Jaharnum, which allied forces helped liberate from the Red Federation in World War Three. Diplomacy PRM vigorously supports diplomacy as a means to cooperate with nations around the world, some of which have complicated relationships with Falleentium, to defuse tensions that arise and come to a consensus on important international issues. PRM does not believe that Falleentium can act unilaterally in the world and must be willing to meet other nations halfway. Vanossium Parliamentarians such as Foreign Secretary Jimmy Carter have warned in that past that the continued hostile treatment of Vanossium will isolate the nation and make it more likely to start acting like a rouge state. However, the party has recently taken a more aggressive stance against Vanossium, acting directly contrary to Vanossian interests in Malruricaia. This may be an indication that party leadership now believes Vanossium to be too far gone after the Imperial Senate rejected the Gabbard-Velazquez Agreement. Geelakkar Island PRM fears that Geelakkar Island is heading down a path of right-wing extremism and anti-democratic practice. Some influential party members have openly questioned whether Geelakkar Island in its current form still belongs in the Nilira Alliance. Similar concerns exist for the other Souecan nations. Cantonos Falleentium should respect Cantonos' decision to make a separate peace in the Third World War. However, this also means it is no longer Falleentium's duty to liberate the regions of Cantonos and Ouruland that were signed away to the Red Federation's mercy by that separate peace arrangement. Red Federation At the conclusion of the Third World War, the Red Federation must be reduced to its core continental member states. Completely invading the Red Federation mainland would be brutally costly in human lives and potentially leave a far-east power vacuum for bad actors to fill. Independence Policy PRM supports the exit of Veldunium and Hastiga from the Empire of Falleentium after free and fair referenda indicated a simple majority of the inhabitants desired this. The party is unionist, however, and as such seeks to preserve the remaining states of the Falleen Empire. Hastiga PRM supports an independent Hastiga in accordance with the democratic mandate given in December 577. The party has not publicly endorsed any specific conditions on which this could be achieved. Veldunium PRM supports an independent Veldunium in accordance with the democratic mandate given in December 577. However, this is conditional on Jalb reunification, as the Jalbs made clear that they wish to stay in Falleentium. No other specific conditions on which Veldunium could be made independent have been publicly endorsed by the party. Jalb Reunification The party whole-heartedly supports Jalb Reunification after 80% of ethnic Jalbs voted to remain in the Falleen Empire during the Veld independence referendum. They do not believe that a second referendum is necessary to do this, considering the 80% mandate more than sufficient evidence that Jalb-majority regions of Veldunium should be reunified with Jalbetrer and remain in the Empire. Verzoonium PRM supports continued Verz statehood, but like in Hastiga and Veldunium will not stand in the way of Verz self-determination. However the party is determined to convince the populace that remaining in Falleentium is worthwhile to avoid the further fragmentation of the nation after Hastiga and Veldunium. Haals PRM supports continued Haalsian statehood, but like in Hastiga and Veldunium will not stand in the way of Haalsian self-determination. However, they believe that Haals needs to be stabilized and rebuilt by Falleentium before independence can be considered. Therefore, Haals should remain a state until conditions have improved substantially. Reellam There have been multiple statements from Reellam state government indicating an interest in leaving the Empire if the state does not receive extra benefits, such as federal funding equivalent to its larger neighbor Delnour. As things stand, PRM considers the state government's motives questionable and unrepresentative of the will of Reellamers. Economic Policy The Popular Republican Movement believes that the economy works best when the common wage-earner makes not just enough money to survive, but enough money to contribute back to the economy through purchases. This is the central economic philosophy that binds the party together. Tax Policy PRM supports the current tax brackets that it helped pass during the 571-575 parliamentary term. There are some more conservative elements in the party, however, that would like to lower middle-class taxes slightly - though not until the deficit is in order. Federal Budget PRM has been very vocal in support of a balanced budget. However, the outbreak of World War Three has made it all but certain that Falleentium will come out of the war still in debt and still in a budget deficit. While acknowledging this reality, PRM intends to turn this around as quickly as possible. Investment PRM supports a mixture of federal investments and private investment incentives to pump more money into the depressed Falleen economy. Federal investments include the Infrastructural Investment and Employment Act, commonly known as the Stoph Act, introduced by Secretary Willi Stoph to allocate 10 billion fall towards rebuilding the national infrastructure and put people to work. Private incentives include the Buy Falleen, Hire Falleen Act that would give a tax deduction to companies that hire 80% of their employees and purchase 80% of their raw materials from Falleen sources. Plant Milk Act PRM proposes illegalizing the sale of plant milks using the word "milk" in an attempt to assist rural dairy farms that have struggled to compete against the rising influence of plant products sold as "milk". Immigration Policy PRM contends that the current Imperial Immigration Act provides absurdly strict federal standards, and that the law must therefore be softened so as to make more people eligible to immigrate. On the other hand, it also believes in granting both federal and state governments the power to set immigration quotas so that each state or the Empire as a whole is not forced to accept more immigrants than they desire. History Formation The Popular Republican Movement was founded on June 14, 570AER in an office park located at 109 East Park Place, Tapanuo. It was the brainchild of local television news reporter Stuart Ponsonby, who would become the party chairman. He was legally helped in the formation of the party by his good friend and lawyer, Jeff Sessions, who was subsequently made the parliamentary leader of the party. Other prominent acquisitions by the party included political commentator Arlen Specter, who was signed on as spokesman of the party, and longtime government accountability activist Sheldon Whitehouse, who would later become well-known as Deputy Imperial Chancellor who served before and throughout World War Three. Election of 571AER and the Purple Coalition The Popular Republican Movement contested its first election in 571AER, where Jeff Sessions and, to a lesser degree, Sheldon Whitehouse, were deployed as campaign surrogates around Falleentium making speeches that often focused on the economy. The PRM election campaign was characterized by frequent sniping back and forth between the Popular Republicans and another new party, the Falleentium Conservative and Reform Party, which PRM criticized for their right-wing extremist rhetoric. The result of this election gave 5% of the vote to the Popular Republican Movement - 9th place out of 14 parties overall. Assuming that UKIP, which was again victorious, would form a conservative government with other right-wing parties, the Popular Republicans negotiated to become a member of the Socialist Party-led opposition. However, this quickly changed as UKIP leader Angela Merkel, a centrist, approached the Socialist Party, the Popular Republican Movement, and the Center Party to form a moderate "purple coalition" to govern, rejecting the hardline right-wing parties. The governing coalition of UKIP, SP, and PRM formed a 51.6% majority of the vote share. This expanded to 55.6% with the support of CP. Popular Republicans Jeff Sessions and Donald Rumsfeld served in the second Angela Merkel cabinet as Home Secretary and Education Secretary, respectively. Opposition The official opposition to this government came from the National Socialist Union, which had become the third-largest party in the Chamber of Deputies after a merger with The Alternative. The opposition from this party was generally characterized as weak and ineffective, however; the NSU had a poor attendance record for voting in parliament, and did not contest the subsequent 575 elections. The government was opposed most vocally by the Falleentium Conservative and Reform Party, which styled itself 'the real opposition'. Election of 575AER - Party Growth and Chancellor Brandt At the beginning of 575AER, Jeff Sessions announced that he would step down as parliamentary leader and chancellor candidate for the Popular Republicans, citing his age. He was replaced by another early party member, Sheldon Whitehouse, at Sessions' recommendation and after a unanimous confirmation by party MPs. Whitehouse signified a slight drift to the left for PRM. The party ran a positive and vigorous campaign, including a series of debates where Spokesman Arlen Specter represented PRM views on a host of topics. On the eve of the election, UKIP and SP mutually ruled out working in a coalition with each other, ending the possibility of a continuation of the governing electoral alliance of the past four years - a development which former leader Sessions described as "saddening". Whitehouse delivered a commanding electoral result of 12.5% - an improvement of 7.5% over the previous election, making PRM the party with the strongest growth since the last election (not counting the New Progressives, which received 8% after being newly established as a successor to the once-dominant Progressive Labour Party). The Popular Republicans were therefore in the position to play kingmaker, as UKIP and SP both courted Whitehouse for an electoral alliance that would effectively decide who ran government for the next legislative session. Ultimately, Whitehouse chose to support Willy Brandt and the Socialists. Starkly different foreign policy views are attributed to the failure of UKIP's Amber Rudd, who was more conservative than Merkel, to win PRM's support. The New Progressives formed the third arm of the coalition, which brought the Government up to 43% of parliament. However, it also had the support of the Federal Liberal Party and the Center Party, bringing the total to 51%. These five parties formed the Cabinet of Willy Brandt, described as a Liberal-Socialist alliance. PRM's Sheldon Whitehouse became Deputy Imperial Chancellor, Donald Rumsfeld retained his position as Secretary of Education, Tulsi Gabbard was appointed Foreign Secretary, and Willi Stoph was appointed Secretary of Infrastructure and Transport in this cabinet. In response to the party's success and climbing membership numbers, the Ponsonby Press periodical newspaper was launched as a free service to paying party members. PRM's most significant legislative accomplishment during this term was the Infrastructural Investment and Employment Act of 576, written by Secretary Willi Stoph, which diverted 10 billion Fall in federal funds to the states to spend on infrastructure projects. Opposition As UKIP received 24% of the vote, it was nearly as large as all other non-government parties combined, and formed the opposition. UKIP turned down offers to form a larger opposition coalition with the FCRP and Moderate Party, and instead stood alone in opposition. Sheldon Whitehouse commented about the difficulty his party faced passing legislation in this session of parliament; legislation was dependent on an unwieldy five-party alliance to get to 50% in the Chamber of Deputies - a prospect complicated by the Federal Liberals' opposition to many PRM policy priorities. Cabinet Shakeup Talks At one point in 576, FLP began to look so hostile to the government it nominally supported that serious consideration was given to forming a second government including the Falleentium Moderate Party instead of the Federal Liberals. FMP had recently ditched its more militarist, nationalist, and anti-worker policies with the election of Michael Bloomberg as their new party leader, and was seen as compatible with the government. Sheldon Whitehouse reportedly gave Chancellor Brandt PRM's approval to form a second cabinet with FMP replacing FLP, and the process was only awaiting final approval from the New Progressives. However, these plans were ultimately scrapped at the last minute by Brandt after consulting with FLP leader Truman Nash, and FLP maintained its position in government. Leadership Contest Announcement Sheldon Whitehouse called for a leadership challenge to unify and energize the party after suffering slim defeats to the "leave" campaigns in the independence referenda of Hastiga and Veldunium in December of 577AER. Speculative candidates included Foreign Secretary Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of Infrastructure and Transport Willi Stoph, Secretary of Education Donald Rumsfeld, MP John Fetterman, and MP Cumbernick Bandersnatch. However, no challengers formally entered the contest against Whitehouse as the outbreak of war against the Red Federation occurred only days later. The Third World War On December 19th, the Red Federation and Islamic League conducted surprise attacks against the Nilira Alliance, Alliance of the East, and Malruricaian Confederation on many fronts, initiating the Third World War. The government was reformed the next day as the Cabinet of Willy Brandt II, with all federal parties invited to participate as a wartime unity cabinet. However, the partisan drama did not end there, as UKIP was not included in the cabinet after their request to replace Whitehouse as Deputy Chancellor and FLP's Truman Nash as Home Secretary were denied. Jeff Sessions returned to the cabinet to serve as Under-Secretary for Aircraft Production under Secretary for War Production Michael Bloomberg, where he introduced a new slate of aircraft designs. Socialist Party Reformation In the midst of the war in late 578, the General Secretary of the Socialist Party, Christine Lagarde - a centre-left progressive who won her election in an upset victory against Willy Brandt ally Ban Ki Moon - announced the rebranding of the Socialist Party as the Democratic Labour Party as part of a plan for the party to move towards policies that are more business-friendly and less decidedly left-wing. There was some fear that the DLP would encroach upon PRM's ideological territory and cause electoral problems, or even provoke a takeover of PRM by a more conservative or left-wing candidate in leadership elections. Secretary Gabbard's Resignation In mid-579AER Secretary of Foreign Affairs Tulsi Gabbard struck a deal with the Vanossian government on the future of the United Republic of Caornum-Naorlum, which was largely under Vanossian occupation following the nation's defeat to Vanossian-backed Naorlum separatists in it's civil war. As rumor began spreading that the Senate might reject the deal, Gabbard threatened to resign if the bill failed, saying that the bill's failure could irreparably damage the prospects of reconciling Vanossium with the Nilira Alliance, possibly so much as to guarantee a future war against the Union of the West. Nevertheless, the Imperial Senate handily defeated her deal. Keeping her word, Gabbard resigned as Foreign Secretary. This stirred some controversy, with Under-Secretary Alan Duncan criticizing her for causing instability in the Foreign Office through her resignation. Nevertheless, the Foreign Office was re-occupied by Popular Republican Jimmy Carter in Gabbard's stead. Resuming the Leadership Challenge The Popular Republican Movement has resumed its leadership election as of November 579. Incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse faced challengers Secretary Willi Stoph, Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and MP Cumbernick Bandersnatch. The four faced off in a televised debate in December of the same year, hosted by FBC News moderator Tom Tucker with guest moderator Perch Perkins of the Ponsonby Press. The major question in the contest was whether incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse could be kept under 50% of the vote in the first ballot so as to force a two-candidate runoff. Although a post-debate poll indicated it was likely that Stoph would advance to a runoff against Whitehouse, several late factors contributed to a stronger-than-expected 59% victory for Whitehouse. These included PRM topping a national public opinion poll for the first time ever and controversial statements made by UKIP MP Alexander Thorn that were perceived as damaging to Cumbernick Bandersnatch's campaign. Ending the War As the war began to come to a close, the Popular Republican Movement expanded its lead in the mainstream polls, going up to 21%. However it faced enormous pressure, along with the DLP, to end the war soon as possible. Notably UKIP and CCU mounted attacks on Chancellor Brant in particular, but also at least partially at PRM for prolonging the war. Common themes of the attacks were that Brandt was prolonging the war due to DLP's low poll numbers so that he wouldn't have to face the voters again so soon. PRM widely condemned these attacks as slander. Nevertheless, peace was made fairly shortly afterwards when the Red Federation initiated a ceasefire and evacuated Jaharnum. Imperial Chancellor Willy Brandt and Foreign Secretary Jimmy Carter drafted the peace document that eventually was approved by all parties involved. Falleen Federal Election, 582 Campaign PRM maintained its lead in voter opinion polls at 21% through 582, only seriously challenged by the Coalition of Conservative Unionists. UKIP and the Democratic Labour Party were in a distant second tier in the low- to mid-teens, followed by a slew of other declared parties. Once the election season officially began, PRM and CCU maintained statistical ties in the polls at around 20%. The Popular Republicans campaigned hard for this election, fully hoping to form the next government. Sheldon Whitehouse personally debated most of the other major candidates in a sanctioned debate. The promises central to his campaign were to balance the federal budget after the treasury had been throttled by wartime expenses; protecting Falleen entitlements; solving the student debt crisis; and introduce targeted tax deductions to reward pro-job business behavior as an alternative to broad tax cuts proposed by the right-wing. His positions - particularly on the budget - were attacked by Chancellor Brandt from the left for being "controlled by right-wing budget hawks" and by various parties on the right for rejecting welfare cuts and tax reform. Results PRM received the largest total vote count in the election, although the CCU received the same number of parliamentary seats. Whitehouse originally attempted to recreate the 571-575 administration by inviting UKIP and the Democratic Labour Party to talk about forming a coalition, but UKIP's leader Ruth Davidson became disinterested when Whitehouse refused to support repealing the Inheritance Tax. UKIP ultimately sided with CCU to form a right-wing government. PRM briefly pursued a governing coalition with DLP and the United Left Coalition, but centre to centre-right actors inside PRM sunk the deal before the ink was even dry. PRM and DLP entered an opposition coalition, with the support of the new Faithful Falleen Distributist Party. Electoral History Membership History Figures based on the official estimates of the Falleen Electoral Commission (FEC) As of 576 data, the Popular Republican Movement is the fifth-largest active federal political party by membership count, behind UKIP (250,000), the Socialist Party (95,000), the Federal Liberal Party (60,000), and the Falleentium Moderate Party (45,000). It is the eighth largest party in Falleentium as a whole, as it is also behind the National Front (115,000), which is no longer active in federal politics but remains as a state-level party in Veldunium, as well as the National Socialist Union (40,000) and Conservative Guardians (31,000), neither of which contested the 575AER Federal Election. Party Factions Once the Popular Republicans gained 107 seats in the Falleen Parliament, different factions in the party emerged and became official. Of the 171 current PRM MPs, 132 are affiliated with one of the three factions and 39 remain unaffiliated. Investor Caucus: '''The Investor Caucus is a centre-left faction of PRM, and is currently the largest faction. They favor revitalization of the nation through investments. While most consider private investment preferable, investments directly from the federal budget are also supported by these parliamentarians. Notable members include Donald Rumsfeld, John Fetterman, Guy Fieri, Jesse Ventura, and Rick Ross. '''Budget Hawk Caucus: '''The Budget Hawks are a centre-right faction in PRM, and their primary concern is fiscal responsibility. They desire a government committed first and foremost to a balanced budget, leaving investments as only a secondary objective. Notable members include Jeff Sessions, Allistair Tenpenny, Cumbernick Bandersnatch, Richard Nixon, Luther Strange, and Joe Manchin. '''Activist Caucus: '''The Activists are the smallest faction. They are the unapologetically left-wing elements of the party, who share much ideologically with the Democratic Labour Party's traditional left-wing populist branch. They favor an activist government that will intervene frequently to protect individuals from business and other special interests, and are not as concerned with fiscal responsibility. They are the most in favor of direct democracy and populism. Notable members include Willi Stoph, Ernest P. Worrell, Jimmy Dore, and Jim Jones. '''Unaligned: '''The unaligned members of the PRM don't associate explicitly with any faction. For some, this is because they want to show neutrality as a party leader (such as with Sheldon Whitehouse, nominally unaffiliated despite most observers considering him part of the Investor Caucus). For others, this is because their priorities lie elsewhere (such is the case with Tulsi Gabbard, who is most concerned with foreign policy matters). Additional unaffiliated MPs include Rob Quist, Rick Perry, Jimmy Carter, Anthony Scaramucci, Steve Irwin, and Biff Tannen. Party Leadership Roles of Leadership '''Parliamentary Leader: the parliamentary leader, or simply "leader" for short, is the face of the party. He or she is the PRM candidate for Chancellor, writes the party's programme, and is the highest-ranking party member in parliament. Chairman: the chairman/woman is the highest-ranking non-parliamentary party member. He or she handles legal matters for the party and works with the Secretary-General on other administrative issues. Secretary-General: the secretary-general is a ranking parliamentarian who handles the administrative issues of the party. He or she may make changes to the name, logo, and slogan of the party, among other branding decisions. The secretary-general is considered the second-most powerful office in the party, behind only the parliamentary leader. Treasurer: the treasurer is a ranking parliamentarian who handles party finances. He or she allocates funding and deals with generating revenue. Whip: the whip is a ranking parliamentarian who secures the votes of other PRM parliamentarians to ensure they make the right vote on each bill in accordance to the party's policies. Spokesman: the spokesman/woman is a non-parliamentary party member who acts as the voice of the party, giving official statements and press releases on behalf of the party as a whole. Leadership Procedure Vacancies in party leadership are filled by the secretary-general. If there is no secretary-general, one can be appointed by the chairman. New nominations for parliamentary leader require additional confirmation by a simple majority of parliamentarians. Whenever the circumstances permit it, the new leader should be chosen by the democratic will of the voting public. List of Parliamentary Leaders Category:The Imperial Constitution